In my weekly attempt to outdue Maister by introducing threads that are really off-the-wall strangeBear

Dream on!

Okay, down to business.

Something I thought nothing about until some friends from SC visited one day and remarked "why are all those reflectors and other garrish looking things at the end of everyone's driveway? I had to explain they were for the plow's benefit.
- driveway markers
- xeriscaped 'lawns'
- fire breaks in large forests (they may have them all over but for some reason you really seem to notice them out West

after Katrina i said to my friend, "Who knew so many people had axes at the ready to chop through the roof in case of a flood/hurricane." she responded with, "One of the first things I did when I moved into this house was tell the boys to put the ax in the attic."

In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.-Martin Luther King Jr.

Swamp Coolers (southwest - they won't work most anywhere else)Fry Bread (anywhere in the west with a significant Native population)

That's all I can come up with at the moment.

Oh wait! How about a Chile Roaster? They are big gas fired tumblers that can roast several sacks of green chile at once. A ubiquitous piece of equipment that sits outside of many stores in the fall (even chain supermarkets get in on it). Now THAT's essential equipment - people 'round here have GOT to have their chile. I've never seen this anywhere but New Mexico, but you might find it in Arizona or some parts of Texas, too.

I'm still learning, and I'll find more in the spring when the snow goes away, but I'll go for:

Bourbon (Kentucky).

Oh, yes, but one can't live by bourbon alone (well, not for long, anyway).

So, set right down, pour yourself a neat one, and I'll fix you up with a Hot Brown. As it is cold outside, you might like a little burgoo to go with it. Let me think on it and I'll see if I can rassle up some other ol Kaintuck specials for ya.

Oh, yes, but one can't live by bourbon alone (well, not for long, anyway).

So, set right down, pour yourself a neat one, and I'll fix you up with a Hot Brown. As it is cold outside, you might like a little burgoo to go with it. Let me think on it and I'll see if I can rassle up some other ol Kaintuck specials for ya.

You forgot Derby Pie. Hot Browns are heart attack specials. Burgoo can be real nasty, depending on how it is made.

Fry sauce (ketchup plus mayonnaise and usually some extras) - northern Utah, Idaho, western Wyoming, western Montana, and eastern Washington.

So that's where my wife (from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) gets this combo... Whenever she does this, I am so put off that I never ask.

Since Colorado is made up of primarily the rest of YOU (from the influx of non-natives) it will take me a looong while to come up with something specific to this state other than:
-Orange football uniforms
-Shitty baseball teams
-Denver omlettes

Hmmm... time for a walkabout to think.

You get all squeezed up inside/Like the days were carved in stone/You get all wired up inside/And it's bad to be alone

You can go out, you can take a ride/And when you get out on your own/You get all smoothed out inside/And it's good to be alone
-Peart